Rick has called the Wenatchee Valley home since 1988. He worked as a hydrologist for the U.S. Forest Service on the Payette National Forest in McCall, Idaho and here on the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF. Rick spent the last years of his USFS career as a grants and agreements specialist, helping staff glue together partnerships with other Federal, State and local agencies, Tribes and non-profits. That career shift was prompted by the experience of working on the development of the Entiat River Watershed Plan, during which he realized that he enjoyed helping stitch together environmentally-beneficial partnerships and projects for the benefit of all.

Rick is a WSU Master Gardener which in part led him toward volunteering at the Wenatchee Rescue Mission to develop and implement a long-term landscape renovation plan for the Mission’s unique 5.8-acre property. Rick’s primary sustainable passion these days seems to be promoting things that will lead to the reduction of landfilling.

Heidi is a Laboratory Manager with the US Department of Agriculture. She has a BS in Conservation Biology and a MS in Ecology, Evolution and Population Biology, both from the University of Wisconsin. Special projects of Heidi's include developing and implementing STEM outreach programs with local grade schools, and actively promoting diversity in STEM fields, especially agriculture research. Heidi started with SNCW as a volunteer, coordinating the first silent auction at the Earth Day Fair. She is on the Earth Day Fair and Fundraising committees.  

Cassie has called Wenatchee home since 2017, originally hailing from the midwest. She studied to become a registered dietitian at Ohio State University and eventually become a PA-C. She now practices at Confluence Health. Her healthcare training has fostered an appreciation for what it means to care for a whole person, and the role that our priorities and environment play into that pursuit. The last few years, she has been practicing paying attention to the sourcing of goods, food and otherwise, and has been excited to buy local in the valley and practice simplicity. She is passionate about the outdoors and the connection between the health of our planet and the health of our selves, mentally and physically. 

Xaxira (Jah-see-rah) is an army brat with Puerto Rican and Bolivian roots who relocated to Wenatchee in October 2019 after graduating law school. She was drawn to our Valley by an opportunity to start her legal services career in a small city with excellent access to public lands. She has lived as far North as Alaska and as far South as Panama. She first learned about environmental stewardship while attending Conserve school, a (now defunct) boarding school in Land O Lakes, Wisconsin. As a lifelong learner, she is excited for the opportunity to learn from board members and connect with and educate our community on actions that we can take to minimize our personal and local impact on this magical Earth.  

Ryan grew up on his family's farm in Royal City, Washington. He graduated from Western Washington University with a B.S. in Environmental Science. He spent 5 years working in California in a variety of fields from trail work to environmental consulting. In 2019, Ryan moved to the Wenatchee area, and he currently works as the Beaver Restoration Project Manager for the Wenatchee Entiat Beaver Project. 

In his spare time, Ryan enjoys hiking, skiing, mountain biking, and backpacking. Ryan has always ascribed to the philosophy of leaving a place better than one finds it. His goal is to live that way in his community by finding ways to give back.

Lee is a retired scientist with degrees in physics, mathematics, computational statistics, and engineering.  He began renewable energy research as a Texas Tech engineering professor in 1981 with a DOE research grant. Lee has studied the science of existential threats to our planet, we humans, and Earth's ecosystems due to climate change caused by our reliance on fossil fuels. For several years Lee has been fully dedicated to climate advocacy by meeting regularly with his Congresspersons and state Legislators, seeking to preserve a survivable climate and environment for our grandchildren.

With a love for the outdoors, Elizabeth is an environmental conservationist. She is inspired by the magnificent landscapes of central Washington and the community members engaged in sustainability to protect them. Her background is natural resource management, including installing habitat enhancement projects for fish, wildlife, and pollinators and administering clean water and water conservation programs. She is also experienced in environmental interpretation and organizing field tours for audiences of all ages. Elizabeth earned a Professional Science Master's in Fisheries and Wildlife Administration from Oregon State University. Currently, she works as the agriculture programs specialist for Cascadia Conservation District.
 

As an SNCW board member, she wants to share information about sustainability so people can evaluate their own practices and initiate efforts that lead to community-wide conservation. She hopes to build upon her own sustainability practices too. Say hi at an SNCW event!

Jennifer was born and raised in Huntington Park, CA, but has spent most of her life in the Wenatchee Valley, which she now calls home. She holds a dual degree in Management Information Systems and Marketing from Washington State University and later earned a Full-
Stack Web Development certificate from the University of Washington to break into tech. In her current role as a Process Technician at Dolco – A Tekniplex Company, Jennifer blends her passion for technology, marketing, and problem-solving. While the company has made strides
toward sustainability, there’s still much work to be done. She is now focused on helping the facility transition to more widely recyclable materials and working toward acquiring a densifier to process post-consumer foamed polystyrene.

She’s dedicated to advancing sustainability efforts in her community and inspiring Latino youth to pursue higher education. Additionally, she plans to consult with Latino businesses to implement more efficient and effective business models. In her free time, Jennifer loves baking

all sorts of sweets, painting, hiking, learning more about tech, talking on the phone with her sister, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Raised in Cashmere, Teresa ventured to Seattle for her education at the University of Washington, and followed her heart to Vienna, Austria, where her daughter was born. Eleven years ago, she returned to the valley to be close to family. Now a single parent with a broad perspective on the impacts of daily living, she settled into the community and looked for opportunities to connect and engage in environmental, social and cultural issues.

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At Chelan County PUD, she supports Operations at the executive level, where they focus on harnessing and protecting our region's natural resources for the long term. Teresa has worked to raise awareness on sustainable practices and strives to model behaviors that encourage thoughtful actions. 

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Her passion for second-hand shopping and love for old things started at a young age, and continues to drive her consumer decisions. Yoga has been a significant part of her life, teaching invaluable survival skills and leading to eliminating the consumption of meat 20 years ago. Gardening for bounty and beauty is a hobby that grounds her in the natural world. She also enjoys exploring our valley through hiking, camping, paddleboarding, nordic skiing, and walks.

Van is a retired outdoor sales executive who has worked from the retail shop floor to independent sales representative to corporate director. He holds degrees in Geology from the University of Washington and Engineering from the University of Texas. His interest in environmental sustainability is the result of seeing wildlands repeatedly destroyed. "Many of the areas we climbed and hiked in the 1970s and 1980s are overrun and almost unrecognizable now.’"

In recent years, his energies have migrated to bicycling. He is particularly interested in youth empowerment and social justice through bicycling. Good things can happen when youth and young adults are educated, inspired and confident. Knowing how to maintain one’s bike, safely navigate city streets and help others to learn can lead to a better world. Van, along with Board Member Heidi Hargarten and Loren Honaas are founding members of the Sustainable Bike CoOp under Sustainable NCW.